Building block

ABSTRACT

Set of building elements containing building blocks ( 1 ) having a body ( 2 ) in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped, whose underside is provided with recesses ( 5 ) and whose top surface is provided with projections ( 3 ) having a lateral surface in the form of a surface of revolution at the intersections of an imaginary square grid, the configuration being such that such a building block ( 1 ) can be connected in clamping engagement with another building block ( 1 ′) of the set of building blocks by engagement of its projections ( 3 ) in the recesses ( 5 ) provided on the underside of the other building block ( 1 ′). The invention provides that the set of building elements contains one or more building blocks ( 1 ) where the projections ( 3 ) occupy only a part of the intersections of the imaginary square grid.

[0001] The present invention claims priority to PCT InternationalApplication Number PCT/EP02/07404 filed Jul. 4, 2002 and GermanApplication Number 101 32 423.5 filed Jul. 4, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a building block for use as partof a set of building elements, and to a corresponding constructionplate. Building blocks and sets of building elements are known, and arecommercially available, as toy building blocks for example under the“Lego” trade name. Building blocks of that kind can be joined tostructures by means of projections provided on the top of one suchbuilding block, which engage recesses provided in one or more otherbuilding blocks in clamping engagement.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] Beside the known Lego building blocks, other similar buildingblocks are also available.

[0006] FR 2,336,956 A1, for example, discloses building blocks thatdiffer from the known Lego building blocks substantially in that theunderside of the described building blocks, instead of being providedwith recesses, exhibit a free inner space enclosed by sidewalls.Correspondingly, the top of such building blocks is provided withprojections only at its edge or, in the case of larger blocks, on whichsmaller building blocks can be fitted, along the contours of suchsmaller building blocks. EP 0,379,389 A1 further discloses buildingblocks which are provided with both projections and recesses forengagement in projections of a matching building block, on their top,their underside and their sidewalls as well. Finally, DE-OS 1,603,572 Adescribes building blocks which have two projections on their top andtwo matching recesses at their underside.

[0007] Now, it is the object of the present invention to extend therange of creative applications permitted by such sets of buildingelements.

[0008] This object is achieved by a set of building elements having thefeatures defined in the claims, and by a building block having thefeatures defined in the claims, all intended for use in a set ofbuilding elements. Advantageous further developments of the inventionare the subject-matter of the claims.

[0009] While in the case of known building blocks, forming part of setsof building elements, upper projections are provided at allintersections of an imaginary square grid, a set of building elementsaccording to the invention contains one or more building blocks wheretwo of those intersections remain free from such projections. This ideais equally ingenious and simple as the idea underlying the known systemof the building blocks as such. While known building blocks only permitrigid connections by engagement of the projections of the one buildingblock in the recesses of the other building blocks, the use of thebuilding block according to the invention as part of a set of buildingelements now allows, in addition to such rigid structures, rotatablestructures or structures with rotating or pivoting elements to berealized. This is so because when the building block according to theinvention is connected with another building block, whether ofconventional design or of a design according to the invention, byengagement of a single rotationally symmetrical projection, then the twobuilding blocks can be rotated one relative to the other about suchprojection and the matching recess in the other building block. Theangle available for rotation depends on the number and position of theremaining projections on the lower building block, which are not soengaged and clamped. In the case of known building blocks, the remainingprojections of the lower building block prevent in this case rotation ofthe building blocks one relative to the other, presenting an obstacle tothe sidewalls of the upper building block. In the case of a buildingblock according to the invention, however, two of four projections aremissing, whereby rotation of one building block relative to the other isrendered possible. If only two projections, placed on a diagonal line ofthe imaginary square grid, are provided on the lower building block,rotation by approximately 360° is possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The building blocks according to the invention can be combinedwith advantage with the known building blocks. Accordingly, a set ofbuilding elements containing one or more building blocks according tothe invention permits a much greater variety of structures to berealized than a set of building blocks consisting exclusively of knownbuilding blocks. Accordingly, it is now possible with a given number ofbuilding blocks to realize much more combinations and a greater varietyof interesting and different structures. Advantageously, children'simagination is stimulated more strongly, and the building blocks gain ininterest as toys for children of a larger age-group.

[0011] Structures with rotatable or pivoting elements, of the kind thatcan be realized with the building blocks according to the invention, canbe used with advantage also in other fields. For example, the buildingblocks according to the invention easily permit the realization of astructure comprising a cable entry whose diameter can be exactlyadjusted to the required width by simple rotation of one or more of thebuilding blocks.

[0012] According to an advantageous further development of the inventionit is provided that the projections have a cylindrically shaped lateralsurface. This feature provides the advantage to increase the retainingforce of the clamping connection.

[0013] According to another advantageous further development of theinvention the projections are hollow. This feature advantageously leadsto material savings.

[0014] Another advantageous further development of the inventionprovides that the building blocks are designed as boxes open at theirunderside. This advantageously reduces the material required for theproduction of a building block. Another advantageous further developmentof the invention provides in this connection that the inner surfaces ofthe sidewalls of the building block are provided with ribs serving toconnect two building blocks by clamping engagement. This featureprovides the advantage to increase the stability of a building block andthe holding force of a clamping connection between two building blocks.Another advantageous further development of the invention provides thatcylinders are provided inside the box, on the underside of the wall fromwhich the projections start out, at the centers of the imaginary squaregrid, which cylinders serve to connect the building blocks by clampingengagement, especially in co-operation with the before-mentioned ribs.Centers of the imaginary square grid mean in this connection thosepoints which are found at the center, i.e. the intersection of thediagonal lines of the grid. If the projections of a building block arein engagement with the bottom of another building block, then a clampingeffect is achieved not only by the sidewalls, and the ribs providedthereon, but also by the respective cylinder. This advantageouslyincreases the holding force of the clamping connection.

[0015] According to another advantageous further development of theinvention, the building blocks have a closed and substantially plane topoutside their projections. This feature provides the advantage tosimplify production of the building blocks.

[0016] According to an alternative advantageous further development ofthe invention, the set of building elements contains one or morebuilding blocks which exhibit, on at least one of the intersections ofthe imaginary square grid, a hole instead of a projection, and one ormore pins matching the holes and having a lateral surface whose outerdiameter conforms to the outer diameter of the projections. This featureprovides the advantage that by combining pins with building blocksaccording to the invention, it is possible to produce building blockswhich exactly have the desired number of projections necessary forrealizing a given structure. It is then possible, at desire, by fittingthe pins in the holes, to create a greater number of projections and tothereby increase the holding force of the clamping connection betweentwo building blocks, or else to make a structure rotatable by leavingthe holes open. This advantageously further increases the number ofpossible combinations of the number of building blocks in a set ofbuilding elements and makes the set of building blocks even moreinteresting for children. Another advantageous further development ofthe invention provides in this connection that the holes are configuredas blind holes. This feature provides the advantage to limit the depthof engagement of the pins. Preferably, the relevant pins have acylindrical configuration.

[0017] An alternative advantageous further development of the inventionprovides in this connection that the holes are through-holes and thatthe pins are provided with a stop that limits the depth of penetrationof the pins. This feature provides the advantage to reduce theproduction effort and the material input for the production of thebuilding blocks. Another advantageous further development provides inthis connection that the pin comprises two cylindrical sections ofdifferent diameters. This feature provides the advantage that the holescan be given a smaller diameter and that once a pin has been fitted, soas to form a projection, the holes are no longer visible.

[0018] According to an advantageous further development of theinvention, the building blocks are made from a plastic material. Thisfeature provides the advantage to permit the building blocks to beproduced at low cost.

[0019] According to one advantageous further development of theinvention, the set of building elements contains a construction plate,provided with projections, having a lateral surface in the form of asurface of revolution, located at the intersections of an imaginarysquare grid, the design of the projections being such that theconstruction plate can be connected with a building block of the set ofbuilding elements by clamping engagement of its projections in therecesses at the underside of such building block, and that theprojections of the construction plate occupy only a part of theintersections of the imaginary square grid. Such a set of constructionelements advantageously permits the realization of structures which arerotatably mounted on, or which comprise elements rotatably mounted on,the construction plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Further details and advantages of the invention will be explainedby reference to an embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in theattached drawings, in which:

[0021]FIG. 1 shows a top view of a building block according to theinvention;

[0022]FIG. 2 shows a side view of a building block;

[0023]FIG. 3 shows a cross-section through a rigid structure composed ofthree building blocks according to the invention;

[0024]FIG. 4 shows a cross-section through a rotatable structurecomposed of three building blocks according to the invention;

[0025]FIG. 5 shows a top view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 4;

[0026]FIG. 6 shows a top view of the structure of FIGS. 4 and 5, in itsrotated position;

[0027]FIG. 7 shows a top view of the structure of FIGS. 4 to 6 inanother rotated position;

[0028]FIG. 8 shows a rear view of a building block according to theinvention;

[0029]FIG. 9 shows a flexible wall built up from building blocksaccording to the invention;

[0030]FIG. 10 shows the wall illustrated in FIG. 9, curved to the shapeof an S;

[0031]FIG. 11 shows the wall illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, in the shapeof a ring;

[0032]FIG. 12 shows the wall illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 11, in straightcondition;

[0033]FIG. 13 shows another wall made from building blocks according tothe invention, consisting of two mutually rotatable sections;

[0034]FIG. 14 shows the wall illustrated in FIG. 13 in rotatedcondition; and

[0035]FIG. 15 shows another wall made from building blocks according tothe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0036] The building block 1 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a cuboid body 2with two hollow cylindrical projections 3 on its top. The length of suchprojections 3 can be freely selected within broad limits so that theprojections can be configured at desire as short knobs or bosses, or aslong pins. The projections 3 serve to connect two building blocks 1, 1′,as shown for example in FIGS. 3 and 4, by clamping engagement of atleast one of the projections 3 of the building block 1′ in recessesprovided at the underside of the other building block 1.

[0037] Contrary to the prior art, not all, but only some of theintersections of an imaginary square grid of the building block 1illustrated in FIG. 1 are occupied by projections 3. In the illustratedconfiguration, the building block 1 has exactly two projections 3, andthese are arranged diagonally opposite one to the other. Thisadvantageously provides the possibility to combine a plurality of suchbuilding blocks for the purpose of creating rotatable structures orstructures comprising rotatable or pivoting elements. It is an essentialaspect in this connection that the projections 3 have a lateral surfacein the form of a surface of revolution, a cylindrical shape of theprojections 3 being especially advantageous for establishing areversible clamping connection.

[0038]FIG. 2 shows a side view of the building block illustrated in FIG.1.

[0039] The building blocks known heretofore only permit the realizationof rigid structures; the realization of rotatable structures is notpossible with prior art building blocks. The described building blocks 1of course also allow the realization of rigid structures—also incombination with the known building blocks—, in which case twoprojections 3 provide almost the same reliability of the clampingconnection between two building blocks 1 as four or more projections 3according to the prior art. An example of such a rigid structure isillustrated in FIG. 3. The user has the choice of joining eitheridentical components 1, or components 1′ with differently arranged, or adifferent number of, projections 3.

[0040]FIG. 4 now shows a cross-section of a rotatable structure. In thisexample, the lower building blocks 1 have two projections 3, arrangeddiagonally opposite each other, while the upper building block 1′ isprovided with a single projection only, the number of projections 3 ofthe upper building block 1′ being of course without relevance for therotating capability of the structure. FIG. 5 shows a top view of thesame structure. In this case, the two lower components 1 are movable onerelative to the other. The structure comprises two axes of rotation,each being defined by a projection 3 of the lower building block 1engaging a recess in the upper building block 1′. FIGS. 6 and 7 show thestructure of FIGS. 4 and 5 in a rotated position, which has beenachieved by rotation of the lower building blocks 1 relative to theupper building block 1′, from their original position illustrated inFIGS. 4 and 5.

[0041] The building blocks 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 8 have squaretops.

[0042]FIG. 8 shows the underside of the described building blocks 1, 1′.The building blocks are configured as hollow boxes, and the innersurfaces of their sidewalls are reinforced by ribs 6 which coact withthe cylinder 7 to establish the clamping connection. Inside the box, atthe underside of the wall from which the projections 3 extend, thebuilding block 1 is provided with a cylinder 7 arranged at the center ofthe imaginary square grid. In the case of larger building blocks, thereare then correspondingly more centers of the imaginary square grid, witha cylinder 7 arranged at each such center. Thus, a building block with asquare top and four intersections of the imaginary square grid has onesuch cylinder 7 at its center, while a larger rectangular building blockhas a correspondingly greater number of cylinders 7. When a projection 3engages the bottom of another building block, the projection 3 isclamped between the inner lateral surfaces by ribs 6, extending in thedirection from the top to the bottom, and the cylinder 7 so that aclamping connection is achieved between two building blocks.

[0043]FIG. 10 shows a wall built up from building blocks according tothe invention. While known building blocks only permit the realizationof rigid or straight walls, or walls arranged at right angles, thebuilding blocks according to the invention also permit the realizationof flexible walls. This is so because the individual building blocks canbe rotated one relative to the other, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 7,whereby the wall in its entirety can be rendered flexible and can begiven the curved shape illustrated in the drawing. FIG. 10 shows thewall illustrated in FIG. 9 in a slightly more curved S-shape. As can beseen in FIG. 11 such walls may even be formed into a ring. In FIG. 12,the wall illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 11 is shown in straight condition. Itwill be seen, when comparing FIGS. 4 and 6, that the possibility torotate the individual building blocks one relative to the other allows achange in length of the wall to be realized. The configurationsillustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 are different in length by a factorequal to root of 2.

[0044] Another wall built up from building blocks according to theinvention is illustrated in FIG. 13. That wall comprises two sections Aand B, which can be rotated one relative to the other about an axis S.FIG. 14 shows the wall of FIG. 13 in rotated condition such that thesections A and B extend at a right angle one relative to the other. Itis thus possible to configure a section of the wall as a door. FIG. 15shows another wall built up from building blocks according to theinvention, with a plurality of axes of rotation.

1. A set of building elements containing building blocks having a squarebody, whose underside is provided with recesses and whose top isprovided with projections, the projections having a lateral surface inthe form of a surface of revolution at the intersections of an imaginarysquare grid, the configuration being such that a first such buildingblock can be connected in clamping engagement with a second buildingblock of the set of building elements by engagement of its projectionsin the recesses provided on the underside of the other building block,the set of building elements containing one or a plurality of buildingblocks comprising the projections which occupy only two diagonallyarranged intersections of the imaginary square grid and where at leastfour intersections of the imaginary square grid so that two buildingblocks, which are mutually connected by engagement of a singleprojection of the first such building block in a first recess of thesecond building block, can be rotated one relative to the other due tothe fact that the second building block can be moved over anintersection of the imaginary square grid of the first building block,which intersection neighbours the engaging projection and is notoccupied by a projection.
 2. The set of building elements as defined inclaim 1, wherein the projections have a cylindrical lateral surface. 3.The set of building elements as defined in claim 1 wherein theprojections are hollow.
 4. The set of building elements as defined inclaim 1 wherein the building blocks are configured as boxes open attheir bottom.
 5. The set of building elements as defined in claim 4,wherein the inner lateral surfaces of the building block are providedwith ribs extending in the direction from the top to the bottom, whichserve to connect two building blocks by clamping engagement.
 6. The setof building elements as defined in claim 4, wherein cylinders areprovided inside the box, on the underside of the wall from which theprojections start out, at the centers of the imaginary square grid, saidcylinders serve to connect two building blocks by clamping engagement.7. The set of building elements as defined in claim 1, wherein thebuilding blocks (1) have a closed and substantially plane top outsidethe projections (3).
 8. The set of building elements as defined in anyof claims 1, wherein one or a plurality of building blocks whichcomprise a hole instead of a projection on at least one intersection ofthe imaginary square grid, and one or a plurality of pins matching theholes and having a lateral surface whose outer diameter conforms to theouter diameter of the projections.
 9. The set of building elements asdefined in claim 8, wherein the holes are blind holes.
 10. The set ofbuilding elements as defined in claim 9, wherein the pins arecylindrical.
 11. The set of building elements as defined in claim 8,wherein the hole is a through-hole and the pin comprises a stop thatlimits the depth of penetration of the pin.
 12. The set of buildingelements as defined in claim 11, wherein the pin comprises twocylindrical sections of different diameters.
 13. The set of buildingelements as defined in claim 1, wherein the building blocks (1) are madefrom a plastic material.
 14. The set of building elements as defined inclaim 1, further comprising a construction plate provided withprojections having a lateral surface in the form of a surface ofrevolution, located at the intersections of an imaginary square grid,the design of the projections being such that the construction plate canbe connected with a building block of the set of building elements byclamping engagement of its projections in the recesses in the undersideof the building block, and that at least four intersections of theimaginary square grid are provided on the construction plate and theprojections of the construction plate occupy only a part of theintersections of the imaginary square grid so that a building blockconnected with the construction plate by engagement of a singleprojection of the construction plate in one of its recesses can berotated relative to the construction plate due to the fact that it canbe moved over an intersection of the imaginary square grid of theconstruction plate, which neighbours the engaging projection and whichis not occupied by a projection.
 15. Building block for use in a set ofbuilding elements as defined in claim 1 having a square body, whoseunderside is provided with recesses and whose top surface is providedwith projections having a lateral surface in the form of a surface ofrevolution at the intersections of an imaginary square grid, theconfiguration of the recesses and projections being such that such abuilding block can be connected in clamping engagement with a secondbuilding block of the set of building elements by engagement of itsprojections in the recesses provided on the bottom of the secondbuilding block that projections of which occupy only two diagonallyarranged intersections of the imaginary square grid, four intersectionsof the imaginary square grid are provided on the building block, so thatwhen a single projection is engaged in a recess of the second buildingblock of the set of building elements, the building block can be rotatedrelative to the latter around the engaging projection in that the secondbuilding block can be moved over an intersection of the imaginary squaregrid of the first building block, which neighbours the engagingprojection and which is not occupied by any projection.
 16. (Cancelled)17. The set of building elements as defined in claim 4 wherein saidcylinders serve to connect two building blocks by cooperation with saidribs.
 18. The set of building elements as defined in claim 5 whereincylinders are provided inside the box, on the underside of the wall fromwhich the projections start out, at the centers of the imaginary squaregrid, said cylinders serve to connect two building blocks by clampingengagement.
 19. The set of building elements as defined in claim 18wherein said cylinders serve to connect two building blocks bycooperation with said ribs.
 20. The set of building elements as definedin claim 5 wherein the projections have a cylindrical lateral surfaceand are hollow and the building blocks are configured as boxes open attheir bottom.
 21. The set of building elements as defined in claim 20,wherein one or a plurality of building blocks comprise a hole instead ofa projection on at least one intersection of the imaginary square grid,one or a plurality of pins matching the holes have a lateral surfacewhose outer diameter conforms to the outer diameter of the projections,the holes are blind holes and the pins are cylindrical.